The Athabasca Watershed Council is focusing greater efforts on monitoring, education, outreach and riparian restoration within the Athabasca River Headwaters and various sub-basins of the northern Eastern Slopes.
The Athabasca Waterhsed Council (AWC) invites all users of the Athabasca Headwaters to get involved in an exciting new opportunity to support the health and sustainability of the watershed.
AWC has formed a working group with includes various environmental, industry, government, and community representatives who live, work, and play within the headwater basins. This working group is away for us to communicate updates, learn about potential impacts, gain better insights of concerns, and to share ideas among those who live in the region.
Relevant Documents:
CABIN is a national biomonitoring program by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to assess freshwater ecosystems; primarily stream and river habitats. It was developed to provide a standardized sampling protocol and a recommended assessment for determining aquatic ecosystem conditions. CABIN training provides the tools necessary for users to conduct consistent comparable and scientifically credible assessments of streams. Results provide rationale to direct policy and planning efforts. It is the most widely used protocol in Canada applied by federal, provincial, and municipal governments, community groups, and industry. The STREAM project uses eDNA metabarcoding to analyze benthic samples collected by community-based water monitors faster, cheaper and more accurately. To learn more about CABIN, check out THIS RESOURCE from fRI.
In September 2020, the AWC completed necessary CABIN training in the Oldman Watershed alongside Living Lakes Canada, Oldman Watershed Council, North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance, Blood Tribe Land Management, and Elbow River Watershed Partnership. Financial support was provided by Alberta Ecotrust Community Grant and Alberta Conservation Association Conservation, Community, and Education Grant. Following training, the AWC identified local study objectives for this project.
The Upper Athabasca Watershed is in the eastern slopes of Alberta where an increase in pressures from human uses may impact water quality and aquatic ecosystems. An increase in comparable monitoring is needed to measure change throughout this region. Therefore, the AWC and its partners are working together to perform biomonitoring in the eastern slopes using the CABIN protocols to measure change in macroinvertebrate communities over time.
Photo: Athabasca Watershed Coordinator Sarah MacDonald
Alberta’s eastern slopes are the headwaters for the Athabasca, Peace, North, and South Saskatchewan Watersheds. These areas face increasing pressures from human activities such as forestry, mineral and energy extraction, rural communities, cattle grazing, motorized recreation, hunting, fishing, horseback riding, hiking, and camping. These activities may impact water quality and aquatic ecosystems. The AWC and its partners see an opportunity for local organizations and volunteers to develop a community-based water monitoring program to complement ongoing government monitoring efforts. Partners include WPACs, stewardship groups, First Nation land managers, research groups, NGOs, and volunteers, with support from ECCC and Living Lakes Canada.
Please find the factsheet about the project.
See projects here:
Please contact info@athabascsawatershed.ca for additional information.
The headwaters region encompasses Yellowhead, Woodlands and Brazeau Counties as well as Jasper National Park – all of which host vast areas of recreational use, from angling and hunting to hiking and ATV trails. Responsible recreation is everyone’s responsibility, and if done in an irresponsible manner, can have detrimental results to local flora and fauna.
ATV/UTV usage can cause one of the largest impacts to watercourses, with trails and crossings impeding fish movement, destroying sensitive riparian areas, introducing invasive plant species, and causing erosion issues along streambanks.
For more information on responsible recreation and how you can help keep our streams cool, clean and connected, check out these links:
The headwaters region includes various stream crossings, either for roadways, industry, or ATV/UTV use. Crossings, if not properly designed and maintained, can obstruct fish passage and mobility, leading to habitat fragmentation and a decline in reproductive success.
There are hundreds of degraded watercourse crossings throughout the watershed, and to mitigate the impacts to fish populations, various organizations and industry partners are working on corrective action. See the links below to learn what is currently being done to rehabilitate watercourse crossings and how you can help!
The Athabasca Watershed is home to various aquatic species at risk, including Bull Trout, Athabasca Rainbow Trout, and Arctic Grayling. The major causes for the decline in population of these species have been due to habitat degradation and fragmentation from industrial development, infrastructure, agriculture, and recreation (angling mortality and pressure). The Athabasca Watershed Council along with various partners and agencies work closely together to enhance aquatic ecosystems throughout the watershed in order to mitigate pressures on fish populations, as well as restore critical habitat for species at risk.
Learn more about impacted populations and how you can help with species recovery and conservation:
Invasive species, whether they be terrestrial or aquatic, all have detrimental impacts on local biodiversity and overall health of the environment. The introduction of non-native species creates increased pressure on native flora and fauna through competition for food and resources, introduction of diseases, and the loss of habitat.
Its important to understand and identify non-native species, and to follow responsible recreation and travel practices such as cleaning boots inbetween travel to different areas (so as not to spread seeds), disinfecting and cleaning waders in-between waterbodies to prevent the spread of Whirling Disease, cleaning, draining and drying your watercraft in-between waterbodies, and reporting all findings of invasive species through the EDDMaps app or to the local municipality.
Remember, never introduce aquarium animals (fish, mussels, etc) into stormwater ponds or any waterbody, never transport fish or other organisms from one waterbody to another, and never plant invasive or non-native plant species that could inadvertently spread and compete with local biodiversity.
For more information, please visit the resources below on how you can help fight against invasive species in Alberta:
This Athabasca headwaters region encompasses the Eastern Slopes, foothills, and boreal forest, and hosts a diverse mixture of land uses and pressures from recreation, as well as industries such as oil and gas, agriculture, mining, and forestry. With many at-risk aquatic species calling these sub-basins home, it’s imperative that we maintain and improve habitat to ensure not only their success but the overall health of communities that rely on water sources in these regions. Through our Healthy Shorelines Initiative, we continually assess shorelines and prioritize restoration for impacted areas, which may include exclusion fencing, willow staking, tree planting and land use planning with property owners.
The Athabasca Watershed Council connects with property owners, industry proponents, Indigenous, Federal, Provincial and municipal governments, community members and local organizations that are active within these regions, to work together collaboratively and efficiently to identify:
Learn more about our partner organizations and other ENGOs working to conserve and protect the Athabasca Watershed.
Learn more about the Upper Athabasca Surface Water Quality Management Framework.
If you or your organization would like to learn more about the Headwaters Initiative, would like to become involved in upcoming projects, or have potential restoration projects in your region, please contact the Headwaters Project Coordinator at: mitch@athabascawatershed.ca
5101 50 Avenue, PO Box 1058,
Athabasca, AB
